Felipe Massa reveals he is in talks with Williams about a 2014 drive

Brazilian could be poised to replace Pastor Maldonado at Grove

By Pete Gill

The Brazilian, who first drove in F1 in 2002, has been dropped by Ferrari for next season in favour of Kimi Raikkonen but is determined to continue in the sport.

"For sure, I am talking with a few teams, including even Williams," Massa told reporters ahead of this weekend's Indian GP. "I will not go to a small team. I will go to the team that has possibilities to build a good car. I'm not a pay driver, so I will not go to a team just because I have a sponsor. I will go for my experience and for what I have already achieved in my career."

Massa has been linked with a move to Lotus in a deal that would see him effectively swap seats with the Maranello-bound Raikkonen. However, with Pastor Maldonado confirming this week that he is not certain to stay at Williams, a vacancy at the Grove outfit could offer the 32-year-old Massa an unexpected lifeline with rumours rife that longstanding race engineer Rob Smedley could also follow him to Williams.

But amid so much uncertainty, predicting the composition of the 2014 grid has become an exercise in futile guesswork - an impression endorsed by Monday's entirely-unforeseen announcement that 'unknown' Russian teenager Daniil Kvyat will partner Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso next season.

With money tight, and the teams also forced to contend with fears that tall drivers will be penalised by next year's 'rules revolution', the likes of Massa, Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg are all in danger of losing their place in F1 as the supply of seats fails to keep up with high-profile demand.